Welcome to All New Members – What's Your Top Question about Moving to Costa Rica

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi Mary,

It kind of depends on how much paper mail you plan to receive. In Costa Rica at least, you can receive mail at the local post office addressed to you with or you could even set up a PO box. You can also set it up with the mailman to have stuff delivered to your rental.

A service like EarthClassMail.com will receive mail for you, scan it and send you images so you can pick and choose which items will be mailed to you in Central America wherever you happen to be.

FedEx, UPS, and DHL are all active in Costa Rica as well.

You should definitely try to go online as much as possible with bank and credit card statements and stuff like that. Paying bills from the U.S. and banking online is the way to go.

Jason

[KATHLEEN LIGHTBURN]

Hi Jason,

We will be applying for a pensionado residency, can you suggest reputable CR Residency services to handle our paperwork? Also should we go to the US Embassy first thing?

Gracias

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi Kathleen,

I can’t recommend any particular residency service – usually created by expats to help others through the process for a fee. If you decide to go this route take to the person extensively before you hire them, ask for references, and look online for reviews and comments by past customers.

I recommend hiring an attorney to guide you through residency: they know the laws, the officials, and they have special access at immigration. The firm of Petersen and Philps has spoken at many IL events. You can reach them here: plawcr.com.

Registering with the U.S. embassy is part of the residency application process. But there is no need to go there first thing. It’s really just a place to pick and fill out paperwork and you need an appointment to even get in the gates. Whoever is helping you with your residency can help you navigate that.

But it is a good idea to register with the State Department’s Safe Traveler program: http://step.state.gov/step/.

[MICHEAL LEVINE]

Telephones: There are US providers whose phones run GSM (T-Mobile, for example), but if the phone has a provider’s name on it, it is almost certainly locked. As Jason points out, you need an unlocked phone to be able to use the SIM card you are going to buy in the airport or elsewhere in CR.

However, not all unlocked GSM phones will work satisfactorily everywhere in CR. I came to CR this summer with an unlocked (tri-band) GSM phone, and it worked in the Central Valley. Elsewhere (Southern Pacific) it was useless. I learned that the newer systems in CR run on frequencies which are only served by quad-band phones. [I should thank Margaret Summerfield for explaining this to me.] I had used this same phone in CR 18 months ago and it worked fine.

Since then I have bought an unlocked Samsung GSM quad-band smart phone from Amazon for about $125, but it hasn’t yet been tested in CR.

[SHARON LANG]

Hi Jason…my husband and I are planning to move/retire in CR next June. We have a trip planned in January and may plan another one before June. We’d like to take advantage of the trip by packing an extra bag or two with some small items that we want to have over in CR once we move. Is this wise to do? And, if so, can you recommend a storage facility(ies).

[JASON HOLLAND]

I’d say that’s a pretty good idea. The only hitch being your move gets delayed and you need any of those items still in Costa Rica.

I can’t personally recommend a particular storage facility – I haven’t had the opportunity to use any. But you will find such establishments throughout the country. Often they cater to expats. When you arrive in Costa Rica, I’d recommend talking to some local expats or real estate folks about storage places they recommend in that area.

[SHARON LANG]

Sounds like a good plan. Thanks, Jason.

[MIKE LEON]

Jason,

I recently ran across a listing on Craigslist advocating boycotting Moran Real Estate in the Lake Arenal area. In addition to talking about real estate scams common to the area it went on to talk about the runaway crime rate (theft, burglary, muggings, etc.), corrupt police forces and an overall lack of police protection around Lake Arenal and falling property values as a result of these things.

I am strongly considering retiring to the Lake Arenal area and I was wondering if any of this is true. I am planning a trip with my family but I do not want to expose them to a dangerous situation.

Any information that you could provide would b greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike Leon

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi Mike,

In relation to Moran Real Estate, I’ll refer you to Margaret Summerfield of Pathfinder International, IL’s sister company: msummerfield@pathfinderinternational.net. She can put you in touch with Terry.

As far as crime in Arenal, I read the gentleman’s comments and he gives a very breathless account. He kind of makes it sounds like there are gangs of bandits running around – which there are not. From my experience and the expats I’ve spoken with Arenal is a rural, very quiet area. It’s a lot of farms and small villages. The country. I’m sure there’s crime, I don’t think there’s any community that doesn’t have it. What you have in Costa Rica are things like home and car break ins primarily. But I wouldn’t say it’s reached epidemic proportions in Arenal as this guy says. If you live there (or anywhere in Costa Rica), it’s a good idea to have a safe for valuables and an alarm system. And if you’re going to be out of town for months at a time and don’t live in a gated community it’s a good idea to get a house sitter. And don’t leave valuables visible in your car.

There are police in Arenal. But it’s definitely not like in the U.S. The police are underfunded and not as well trained. So response times in a rural area like Arenal aren’t like what we’re used to in the U.S.

As far as safety, I’ve traveled there with my family six or seven times over the last couple of years and never felt any doubt that we were in a safe situation. It’s a nice place. You would not be putting yourself in a bad situation.

But my advice to you is to rent a home for an extended stay. You could even rent for a couple of years as you get to know the community. No need to rush to buy any property.

[MIKE LEON]

Thank Jason. I really appreciate your input. I was saddened at the thought that the place that I was so looking forward to retiring to was as bad as stated in the Craigslist listing.

[LEONARD CLAEYS]

Hi Jason. I am wondering how hard it is to find clothes in a xxl and 40 to 44 in waist and how does it compare to canadain and American prices. thank u

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi Leonard,

It is an issue to find clothes in those sizes. There won’t be a big selection for sure. I have seen a few shops that specialize in those sizes in San Jose, the capital of the country. I would suggest you stock up before you move down. Good quality clothes tend to be more expensive in Costa Rica than the U.S.

[TOM WALLACE]

Jason,

We visited CR for 10 days back in July. Our car rental was over $600. If we were to come down for an extended period of 2 or 3 months, are there monthly rates that are significantly cheaper? In short, what is your recommendation for vehicle rental for a trial stay of that duration? (I’m only interested in costs, not types of vehicles–I already know I need a 4WD! Haha!) Thanks in advance for your time!

Tom Wallace

[JASON HOLLAND]

Great question.

And I recently found out some cool information on this topic because I was looking into a vehicle rental for myself.

Vamos Rent a Car has long term rentals and lease arrangements that aren’t cheap but much more reasonable than a usual rental.

Check out what they have here – and give them a call to discuss your options: http://vamos4x4.com/vamos/long-term-rentals/

[Author]

Posts